PUBLICITY  FOR  THE 
LOCAL  ASSOCIATION 


HELEN  A.  BALLARD 


National  Board 

of  the  Young  Womens  Christian  Associations 
of  the  United  States  of  America 
600  Lexington  Avenue 
New  York 
1914 


PUBLICITY  FOR  THE 
LOCAL  ASSOCIATION 


HELEN  A.  BALLARD 


National  Board 

of  the  Young  Womens  Christian  Associations 
of  the  United  States  of  America 
600  Lexington  Avenue 
New  York 
1914 


Note. — While  comparatively  few  Associations  can 
hope  to  provide  for  publicity  as  adequately  as  sug¬ 
gested  here,  it  seems  best  to  treat  the  subject  fully, 
assuming  that  the  smaller  Associations  will  adapt 
this  outline  to  their  own  possibilities.  The  general 
principles  discussed  are  applicable  to  city  and  town 
Associations  of  all  types  and  for  the  most  part  to 
country  and  student  Associations  as  well. 


PUBLICITY  FOR  THE  LOCAL 
ASSOCIATION 

HELEN  A.  BALLARD* 

WHY 

How  many  persons  in  a  city  really  know  the  work 
of  the  Association  and  see  it  frequently  in  operation? 
How  many  persons  subscribe  to  its  support?  How 
many  of  those  who  do  subscribe  to  its  support  know 
the  work  at  first  hand  ?  How  shall  we  make  it  known 
to  all  residents  of  the  city?  Obviously  we  must  let 
the  work  talk  and  we  must  talk  about  the  work. 

Association  publicity  should  be  considered  from 
three  viewpoints:  first,  that  of  the  girl  to  whom  the 
Association  is  to  be  made  known ;  second,  that  of  the 
general  public  who  have  never  heard  of  it,  who  do 
not  understand  it,  who  often  have  misconceived  notions 
of  its  work,  or  who  are  interested  in  keeping  in  touch 
with  its  progress;  and  last,  that  of  the  finance  com¬ 
mittee,  which,  if  the  girl  and  the  public  have  been 
reached,  will  undoubtedly  reap  results  from  it. 

An  efficient  Association  plus  enthusiastic  members 
gives  the  best  possible  publicity,  but  the  girls  must 
know  that  it  exists  and  what  it  offers,  and  must 
become  a  living  part  of  it,  or  they  cannot  be 
enthusiastic  members.  Through  publicity  aimed  at 
the  general  public,  possible  volunteer  workers,  who 
otherwise  would  know  comparatively  little  about  the 
organization,  may  be  reached  and  interested. 

The  first  step  toward  making  the  Association  known 
is  the  appointment  of  a 

*Miss  Ballard  is  special  worker  for  publicity,  in  tlie  Finance  Depart¬ 
ment  of  the  National  Board. 


3 


PUBLICITY  COMMITTEE 


It  might  be  well  to  appoint  a  committee  of  women 
who  will  undertake  this  special  work  for  one  year. 

The  chairman  of  this  committee  should  be  the 
member  best  adapted  to  publicity  work.  The  others 
should  also  be  chosen  because  of  their  special  fitness 
for  this  particular  service,  which  may  be  made  most 
interesting  and  fascinating.  Five  is  a  good  working- 
number  and  each  should  be  given  some  definite 
responsibility.  For  instance,  the  woman  with  artistic 
tendencies  might  take  charge  of  the  preparation  of 
posters  and  look  after  the  artistic  make-up  of  all 
leaflets  and  folders ;  another,  possessed  of  a  combina¬ 
tion  of  literary  and  business  ability,  might  vise  all 
leaflets,  folders,  dodgers,  etc.,  from  an  economic  view¬ 
point,  taking  pride  in  decreasing  their  cost  while 
increasing  their  effectiveness;  one  member  might  look 
after  their  proper  distribution ;  a  fourth  might  become 
expert  in  systematically  conducting  parlor  meetings 
for  educating  and  informing  the  different  groups  in 
a  community  on  the  various  phases  of  the  Association 
work ;  and  the  fifth  might  take  as  her  special  hobby 
watching  for  and  recommending  speakers  both  for 
these  parlor  meetings  and  for  members’  meetings. 
There  are  any  number  of  duties  that  will  suggest 
themselves,  and  each  should  be  delegated  to  the  right 
committee  member.  The  committee  as  a  whole  should 
be  a  constant  resource  to  the  secretary  who  is  to  take 

THE  INITIATIVE 

To  get  the  best  results  there  should  be  one  person 
who  is  directly  responsible  for  all  publicity,  either  a 
volunteer  worker  or  one  of  the  employed  staff.  For 
convenience,  the  possibilities  of  a  large  Association, 
where  a  secretary  would  naturally  take  the  initiative, 
are  taken  as  a  basis. 

After  the  first  preliminary  meeting  of  the  commit¬ 
tee  and  the  secretary,  and  before  they  come  together 


4 


for  their  second  meeting  to  consider  plans,  each 
should  do  some  careful  thinking  along  the  line  of  a 
publicity  campaign  for  the  year.  Each  may  make  out 
a  tentative  program  if  she  chooses,  but  the  secretary 
herself  should  present  a  complete  and  carefully 
worked  out  campaign — including  its  cost — for  con¬ 
sideration,  revision,  and  adoption.  In  making  this  plan 
she  should  confer  with  departmental  secretaries.  By 
working  together  and  by  taking  the  best  suggestions 
that  each  can  offer  after  having  given  real  study  to 
the  subject,  it  should  be  possible  to  map  out  a  logical 
and  effective  plan  that  would  meet  the  needs  of  all 
departments  and  of  publicity  in  general. 

The  staff  member  who  has  charge  of  this  important 
part  of  Association  work  should  be  a  combination 
publicity  and  editorial  secretary — an  alert  individual 
of  good  judgment,  who  can  take  the  lead  and  yet  who 
knows  the  value  of  team  work  and  how  to  inspire  her 
committee  members  to  their  part  in  it.  She  need  not 
herself  prepare  all  of  the  copy,  but  it  would  be  well 
for  her  to  be  responsible  for  the  whole  publicity 
scheme.  Any  literature  written  by  another  depart¬ 
mental  secretary  should  be  referred  to  her  before  it 
is  published  in  order  that  it  may  fit  in  with  the  entire 
plan  of  campaign.  The  publicity  committee  and  secre¬ 
tary  should  be  a  resource  for  all  departments  and 
when  desired  could  be  responsible  for  the  preparation 
of  all  printed  matter.  In  any  ease  none  should  be 
issued  that  has  not  been  approved  by  the  committee. 

The  secretary  who  is  to  do  this,  work  should  have 
a  publicity  sense  and  be  constantly  awake  to  her 
opportunities.  She  should  have,  in  newspaper  par¬ 
lance,  a  “nose  for  news,”  for  this  quality  will  help  her 
in  the  preparation  of  all  kinds  of  material.  She 
should  be  a  person  of  good  judgment  and  be  able  to 
decide,  in  conference  with  the  general  secretary, 
whether  or  not  some  special  story  that  calls  for  imme¬ 
diate  action  should  be  given  out  to  the  press.  Timely 


5 


material  for  newspapers  must  be  acted  on  quickly. 
It  must  be  news,  not  history. 

WHEN  TO  BEGIN 

The  logical  time  to  launch  the  newspaper  part  of 
the  publicity  campaign  for  the  year  is  in  September, 
or  a  month  before  the  regular  work  starts  and  it  is 
not  too  late  to  enroll  new  class  members.  The  edu¬ 
cational  or  class  prospectus  and  general  Association 
literature  should  be  ready  for  distribution  early  in 
August  for  those  members  who  plan  ahead  for  their 
winter  work.  A  special  effort  made  then  is  worth 
three  months  given  to  publicity  later  on.  At  this 
time  the  work  of  the  Association  should  be  brought 
energetically  and  systematically  before  the  public 
through  clever  posters,  literature,  rallies,  talks  given 
at  parlor  meetings,  before  women’s  clubs,  at  church 
gatherings,  and  by  general  advertising  and  press  work. 
Talks  on  the  classes  to  be  opened  might  be  given  in 
the  factories  at  the  noon  hour;  a  banquet  might  be 
given  to  the  business  women  of  the  city  at  the  Asso¬ 
ciation  building  and  the  work  that  would  be  most 
likely  to  interest  them  be  presented ;  and  literature 
should  be  distributed  to  employees  as  they  leave  the 
factories  and  should  be  placed  on  the  trays  in  the 
lunch  room. 

KINDS 

The  different  mediums  for  publicity  are  discussed 
in  this  booklet  under  the  following  heads : 

Newspapers. 

The  Association  Paper  or  Magazine. 

Booklets  and  Folders. 

Letters. 

General  Methods. 

Newspapers 

The  first  step  in  dealing  with  newspapers  is  to 
know  them.  If  Association  work  has  been  kept  out 


6 


of  the  papers,  a  good  plan  would  be  for  the  secretary 
and  a  committee  member  to  call,  by  appointment,  upon 
the  publisher,  managing  editor,  and  city  editor  of  each 
paper  and  frankly  state  to  these  men  the  general  pur¬ 
pose  of  the  Association — which  often  is  unknown  or 
misunderstood — the  plans  for  future  work,  and  the 
need  the  Association  feels  of  the  co-operation  of  the 
newspapers  in  bringing  about  the  desired  results. 
They  should  realize  that  the  newspapers  are  the 
mouthpiece  through  which  they  can  tell  the  entire  com¬ 
munity  of  the  work  which  is  being  done.  They  should 
conyince  these  men  that  they  know  what  real  news 
is,  that  the  Association  has  something  of  interest  to 
give  to  the  reading  public,  and  they  should  not  be 
afraid  to  ask  for  space  as  a  contribution  to  the  needs 
of  the  women  of  the  city;  and  not  only  for  generous 
space,  but  that  Association  articles  be  given  good 
position  and  attractive  headlines. 

They  should  also  ask  that  some  good  reporter, 
preferably  a  woman,  be  assigned  to  handle  Associa¬ 
tion  news.  In  this  first  talk  with  an  editor  they  should 
really  give  a  brief,  human-interest  talk  and  make  him 
feel  something  of  their  own  enthusiasm. 

There  are  two  kinds  of  newspaper  publicity,  the 
regular  news  note  and  the  feature  article,  but  the 
news  note,  which  ordinarily  will  not  exceed  one-third 
or  one-half  a  column  in  length,  may  be  made  a  feature 
if  properly  handled.  There  are  many  opportunities 
for  this :  for  instance,  a  general  article  on  depart¬ 
mental  work  may  be  made  timely  because  of  some 
special  event  which  is  to  take  place  in  that  depart¬ 
ment,  and  the  article  should  be  given  out  in  time  for 
appearance  on  that  day. 

When  a  secretary  comes  into  the  local  work  who, 
because  of  some  previous  work  or  unusual  experience, 
is  a  “story”  in  herself,  or,  better  still,  because  of  her 
successful  identification  elsewhere  with  a  project 
which  is  just  then  of  local  civic  interest,  an  excellent 


7 


opportunity  is  afforded  for  an  article  which  will  be 
of  general  interest.  In  this  last  instance  the  secre¬ 
tary’s  views  on  this  particular  subject  should  be 
quoted. 

The  visit  of  a  headquarters  or  field  secretary  gives 
a  chance  for  a  news  item  featuring  her  and  the  general 
scope  and  picturesqueness  of  her  work.  A  photograph 
that  can  be  used  to  illustrate  such  articles  should  be 
furnished,  if  possible.  The  departmental  article  may 
be  illustrated  with  a  picture  of  the  work  or  a  photo¬ 
graph  of  the  secretary,  or  with  both. 

Certain  board  meetings  where  the  question  under 
discussion  is  of  special  civic  interest  make  excellent 
material  and  may  be  illustrated  with  a  group  of 
photographs  of  the  board  women.  A  trustees’  dinner 
can  be  treated  in  the  same  way,  but  the  illustrations 
for  both  should  be  furnished  in  advance.  The  secre¬ 
tary  might,  if  possible,  get  these  people  together 
for  a  group  picture  before  the  event  takes  place,  or 
she  may  have  the  picture  taken  at  one  meeting  and 
use  it  when  the  next  one  is  to  be  written  up. 

Often  a  story  that  otherwise  would  have  no  excuse 
for  being  published  can  be  hung  on  some  local  current 
question.  For  instance,  if  the  question  of  efficiency 
and  elimination  of  waste  in  civic  administration  is 
before  the  city,  whv  not  have  an  article  on  the  neces- 
sity  for  personal  thrift  and  efficiency,  mentioning  the 
work  that  is  being  undertaken  by  the  Thrift  and 
Efficiency  Commission  of  the  National  Board?  A 
glance  at  almost  any  newspaper  will  show  how  some 
clever  reporter  has  written  a  good  story  by  tying  up 
a  seemingly  foreign  subject  to  the  question  before  the 
public  at  that  time. 

In  local  publicity  the  held  in  which  the  Association 
is  situated  should  be  so  logically  and  so  often  brought 
into  the  copy,  that  the  public  becomes  familiar  with 
that  part  of  Association  organization,  and  the  field 
executive  should  be  well  known  to  the  public. 


8 


There  are  any  number  of  occurrences  which  the 
alert  secretary  who  is  watching  out  for  publicity 
opportunities  will  recognize  as  good  stories  and  will 
use. 

Writing  Copy. 

The  question  of  who  shall  write  newspaper  copy, 
whether  the  secretary  in  charge  of  the  publicity  or 
the  reporter,  must  be  decided  locally.  The  advantages 
in  the  secretary’s  writing  the  copy  are  that  she  knows 
the  points  she  wants  emphasized  and  since  the  news¬ 
paper  staff  is  always  busy,  she  is  more  likely  to  get 
generous  space  if  she  can  furnish  the  material  ready 
for  the  compositor.  Editors  welcome  such  copy,  but 
it  must  be  written  in  a  readable  style  and  contain  real 
news.  Some  editors  prefer  to  send  a  reporter  to  get 
the  material,  as  she  knows  best  just  what  the  paper 
will  use. 

If  the  reporter  is  to  write  the  copy,  the  secretary 
must  be  glad  to  see  her  when  she  calls,  and  be  ready 
to  give  the  news  quickly.  If  it  is  material  for  an 
article  of  any  length  she  should  have  a  complete  out¬ 
line  prepared  so  that  she  may  give  it  readily,  in 
logical  order,  and  remember  to  add  any  picturesque 
incidents  which  might  enliven  it,  without  exploiting 
or  antagonizing  any  of  the  members.  The  reporter 
may  have  several  assignments  to  cover  in  a  very  short 
space  of  time  and  cannot  wait  for  the  secretary  to 
collect  her  material,  or  possibly  to  attend  to  secre¬ 
tarial  duties  in  the  midst  of  the  interview.  The  best 
plan  is  to  employ  both  methods. 

Types  of  Newspapers. 

The  secretary  should  be  familiar  with  the  different 
types  of  newspapers  published  in  the  city  and  know 
the  kind  of  copy  each  uses.  She  should  also  know 
the  class  of  readers  each  paper  reaches  in  order  that 
she  may  know  to  which  one  to  give  her  special  mate- 


9 


rial.  If  an  article  is  intended  to  reach  business  men 
or  home  women,  it  should  be  published  in  the  news¬ 
paper  which  reaches  the  greatest  number  of  that  class ; 
or,  if  it  is  designed  to  reach  the  girl,  it  should  be  given 
to  the  paper  which  she  reads. 

Each  feature  article  should,  of  course,  be  given  to 
but  one  paper  in  a  city  or  town. 

News  Items. 

All  copy  sent  out  for  publication  should  be  type¬ 
written.  General  news  items  may  be  written  in  dupli¬ 
cate  and  a  carbon  copy  given  to  each  paper.  If  possi¬ 
ble,  it  is  always  best  to  prepare  some  special  item 
separately  for  each  paper  for  the  beginning  of  the 
copy,  and  it  should  be  labelled,  “this  page  of  copy 

IS  FOR  THE  ‘news’  EXCLUSIVELY,  BALANCE  OF  COPY  IS 
GENERAL.” 

Newspapers  do  not  mind  a  duplication  for  the  last 
part  of  news  items,  but  they  like  something  fresh  for 
the  beginning.  A  better  way,  of  course,  is  to  write 
the  copy  in  a  different  way  for  each  paper,  using 
practically  the  same  material. 

The  special  full-page  feature  article  need  not  be 
timely — though  timeliness  adds  to  its  publishing  value 
— and  should  be  given  to  the  special  issue.  The 
regular  daily  paper  cannot  give  space  to  it.  Each 
department  of  Association  work  affords  material  for 
such  an  article  and  it  may  be  illustrated  by  pictures 
of  the  girls  engaged  in  their  various  activities,  a 
photograph  of  the  secretary  in  charge  of  that  depart¬ 
ment,  and  one  of  the  chairman.  Such  an  article  may 
give  a  brief  sketch  of  the  history  of  the  department, 
its  purpose,  future  plans,  and  how  it  affects  the  civic 
welfare  of  the  city  and  the  business  houses  whose 
employees  are  enrolled  in  the  department.  The  direc¬ 
tor  of  the  department  can  give  interesting  points 
which  may  be  quoted  on  how  such  work  contributes 
to  the  general  efficiency  of  the  individual.  For  in- 


10 


stance,  the  physical  director  may  be  quoted  as  explain¬ 
ing  the  value  of  gymnasium  class  work,  or  of  the 
various  athletic  sports  which  form  part  of  the  pro¬ 
gram,  not  only  in  developing  the  physique,  but  in 
training  the  perceptive  faculties — the  eye,  the  ear- 
all  that  makes  for  judgment,  and  many  other  points 
which  the  keen  physical  director  will  be  able  to  work 
out. 

The  chairman  should  also  be  quoted  on  something 
that  will  make  good  “copy”  and  some  man  or  woman 
who  is  well  known  in  the  city  might  be  asked  to  say 
something  of  general  interest  on  the  subject.  A  busi¬ 
ness  man,  for  instance,  might  be  glad  to  say  that 
certain  employees  had  done  their  work  better  since 
they  had  been  patronizing  the  gymnasium,  or  that 
certain  educational  classes  had  raised  the  standard  of 
efficiency  of  some  of  his  workers.  The  names  of  the 
workers  need  not  be  quoted,  but  the  name  of  the  man 
who  says  this  should  be  given. 

Length  of  Article. 

The  length  of  a  feature  article  for  the  daily  or 
special  issue  must  be  determined  by  local  conditions. 
As  a  general  rule  the  daily  feature  should  not  exceed 
one  and  one-half  columns  in  length,  or  from  twelve 
hundred  to  fifteen  hundred  words.  The  full-page 
article  should  not  exceed  three  thousand  words.  The 
general  news  item  should  be  only  long  enough  to  cover 
the  subject.  The  length  of  an  article  is  determined  by 
averaging  the  number  of  words  in  a  line — taking  any 
four  full  lines  as  the  block  for  averaging — multiplying 
by  the  number  of  lines  on  a  page  and  the  number  of 
pages  of  copy.  No  allowance  is  made  for  break  lines. 

Style. 

Newspaper  styles  differ.  One  paper  uses  a  crisp, 
breezy  style,  with  startling  headlines ;  others  are  more 
conservative.  If  the  secretary  is  furnishing  the  copy 


11 


herself,  she  should  aim  to  adapt  her  style  to  the  paper. 
One  newspaper  in  a  middle  western  city  refused  an 
article  because  it  was  “too  editorial,”  while  its  con¬ 
temporary  accepted  it.  This  shows  the  necessity  for 
versatility  in  writing. 

Headlines  and  Sub-Heads. 

The  headlines  and  sub-heads  should  bring  out  the 
salient  points  in  the  article.  The  headline  should 
always  contain  a  verb.  The  running  sub-headings 
throughout  the  article  may  be  so  worked  out  that  they 
give  the  entire  gist  of  it.  The  newspaper  will  not  use 
the  same  headlines,  since  each  has  its  own  style,  but 
by  using  them  one  calls  attention  to  the  points  of 
emphasis,  and  catches  the  interest  of  the  editor. 

Illustrations. 

Many  an  otherwise  good  picture  is  spoiled  by  lack 
of  life.  One  local  Association  photographed  a 
splendid  millinery  exhibit — real  “creations” — and  yet 
not  one  person  was  in  the  picture,  just  a  roomful 
of  beautiful  hats  placed  about  on  stands — no  life, 
nothing  to  make  the  picture  real,  and  of  course  it 
was  useless  for  publicity.  An  editor  to  whom  it  was 
taken  to  use  in  illustrating  an  article  said,  “Why 
didn’t  you  have  some  girl  trying  on  one  of  these  hats, 
or  placing  one  on  a  stand  ?  It  would  have  been  a 
fine  picture  if  there  had  been  life  in  it,  but  we  can’t 
use  this.”  Even  the  interior  of  a  room  is  far  more 
attractive  with  people  in  it. 

Pictures  should  be  given  to  the  papers  at  least  a 
day  in  advance  of  the  publication  of  the  article  they 
are  to  illustrate  (two  or  three  days  is  much  better), 
and  the  full-page  story  should  be  given,  complete 
with  illustrations,  from  a  week  to  three  weeks  in 
advance,  as  this  length  of  time  is  required  in  making 
up  the  magazine  section  of  the  paper.  Of  course,  a 
timely  article  is  rushed  through  quickly.  For  instance, 


12 


a  photograpli  of  a  Hooded  or  storm-swept  section  may 
appear  in  a  few  hours  after  the  picture  is  taken,  but 
for  ordinary  Association  work  we  cannot  expect  news¬ 
papers  to  use  rush  processes,  and  such  pictures  as 
these  mentioned  always  occur  in  the  news  section, 
not  in  the  magazine  section  where  the  feature  articles 
appear. 

Release  Date. 

Any  general  press  notice  sent  out  should  bear  a 
release  date  so  that  all  papers  will  publish  it  on  the 
same  day.  At  the  top  of  the  first  sheet  should  be  the 
words,  “for  release  on  july  9.”  Press  notices  sent 
by  mail  should  also  have  the  name  and  address  of 
the  sender  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner  of  the 
first  page,  thus: 

From  Alice  H.  Young,  Secretary  for  Publicity, 

Young  Women’s  Christian  Association, 

X- - ,  Michigan. 

This  gives  the  editor  the  authority  for  printing 
the  notice,  otherwise  lie  would  not  use  it.  It  is  best 
to  use  this  regulation  form  even  when  the  secretary 
takes  the  press  notice  in  person  to  an  editor  in  her 
own  city. 

Country  Papers. 

Since  country  girls  continually  come  to  the  city  to 
get  work,  it  is  a  good  plan  to  acquaint  them  with  the 
work  of  the  Association  through  their  local  paper 
before  coming.  This  can  easily  be  done  by  frequently 
sending  out  articles  about  the  work  to  all  country 
papers  in  that  section.  They  will  find  ready  publica¬ 
tion,  for  the  country  paper  is  not  so  crowded  for  space 
as  is  the  metropolitan  daily,  and  if  the  articles  are  so 
written  as  to  be  of  evident  interest  to  country  readers 
the  editors  will  be  glad  to  get  them.  Multigraphed 
copies,  printed  proof  sheets,  or  clear  carbon  copies 


13 


may  be  sent,  but  each  should  bear  the  release  date, 
and  name  of  sender.  The  same  feature  articles  may  be 
sent  to  several  country  papers  because,  unlike  the  big 
city  daily,  their  circulation  does  not  overlap.  Such 
an  article  should  not  exceed  fifteen  hundred  or  two 
thousand  words. 

Invitations  to  the  Press. 

When  some  function  of  real  interest  is  to  be  given 
in  the  Association  building,  a  courteous  note  should  be 
sent  to  the  city  editor  of  each  paper  inviting  him  to 
send  a  representative.  In  the  case  of  a  really  good 
public  entertainment  to  which  admission  is  charged, 
each  editor  should  be  sent  a  personal  invitation  and 
a  half  dozen  tickets  to  distribute  among  his  staff. 
Such  courtesies  promote  a  friendly  feeling  and  make 
the  newspapers  glad  to  co-operate  in  Association  work. 

Watching  the  Opportunities. 

Something  is  continually  happening  that  gives  a 
chance  for  publicity,  but  its  news  value  is  not  always 
recognized.  There  are  any  number  of  ways — besides 
the  serious  articles — of  keeping  the  Association  con¬ 
stantly  before  the  public. 

The  Scoop. 

The  “scoop”  is  a  newspaper  term  which  may  not 
be  generally  understood.  It  means  important  news 
which  one  paper  publishes  before  other  papers  learn 
of  it.  Sometimes  a  very  unusual  piece  of  news  should 
be  given  to  one  paper  exclusively,  but  the  secretary 
should  distribute  her  “scoops”  impartially,  sometimes 
favoring  one  paper  and  sometimes  another.  This  is 
much  better  than  always  giving  the  same  material  to 
all  papers,  but  it  is  only  something  of  unusual  interest 
that  should  be  treated  in  this  way.  The  other  papers 
will  copy  the  news,  so  it  will  be  generally  circulated. 


14 


In  General. 

The  price  of  good  publicity  is  eternal  vigilance  and 
persistency.  One  should  not  be  discouraged  when  an 
article  is  rejected,  but  should  try  to  learn  from  the 
editor  himself  whether  it  is  some  fault  of  the  material 
or  because  of  lack  of  space.  If  it  is  the  former,  one 
should  endeavor  to  remedy  the  defects  and  submit 
the  article  to  another  paper  unless  the  editor  offers 
to  go  over  it  after  it  has  been  rewritten. 

If  it  is  sometimes  necessary  to  telephone  the  city 
editor  regarding  some  news  item  which  one  wishes 
to  get  into  the  next  edition  of  a  paper  and  he  is  too 
busy  at  that  particular  moment  to  listen — he  may  be 
taking  important  news  on  another  wire — one  should 
not  feel  hurt,  but  should  either  call  up  later  or  ask 
to  be  connected  with  some  assistant,  explaining  to  the 
operator  the  reason  for  the  call.  The  item  may  be 
given  over  the  telephone  when  the  time  is  short.  If, 
as  is  not  likely  to  be  the  case,  an  editor  persists  in 
being  uninterested  in  Association  news  and  will 
neither  assign  a  reporter  to  it  nor  accept  copy  which 
is  furnished  him,  try  to  learn  the  reason  and  what 
sort  of  material  he  would  be  willing  to  publish,  and 
then,  if  possible,  give  it  to  him.  One  who  is  doing 
publicity  work  must  always  find  exhilaration  rather 
than  discouragement  in  defeat. 

The  Association  should  be  a  regular  subscriber  to 
each  paper  in  the  city  through  its  circulation  depart¬ 
ment. 

When  space  has  been  given  in  some  paper  for  a 
lengthy  article  on  Association  work  a  personal  note 
might  be  written  to  the  city  editor  bv  some  board 
member,  expressing  her  gratitude  for  the  space  given 
and  for  his  co-operation  in  the  work  which  the  Asso¬ 
ciation  is  doing.  This  will  make  the  editor  feel  that 
his  efforts  are  being  appreciated.  Even  editors  like 
appreciation. 


15 


Press  Clippings. 

The  old-fashioned  scrap-book  method  of  keeping 
clippings  is  no  longer  used  in  any  well-organized 
office  and  was  never  adequate.  A  better  way  is  to 
tile  them  in  folders  under  departments.  Each  clipping 
should  be  numbered  as  received,  labelled  with  the 
classification  of  folder,  name  of  paper  (whether  morn¬ 
ing  or  evening  issue,  if  there  are  two  editions)  and 
date  of  publication.  This  information  should  be 
typed  on  a  slip  of  paper  and  pasted  at  top  of  clipping, 
thus : 


1. 

INDUSTRIAL  DEPARTMENT. 

B -  Daily  News. 

May  15,  1914. 

Contents  of  folders  should  be  indexed  on  a  sheet  of 
paper,  which  is  clipped  to  front  inside  of  folder, 
according  to  accession  number  and  headlines  of 
clippings,  thus: 

INDUSTRIAL  DEPARTMENT. 

1.  Federation  of  Clubs  Holds  Banquet. 

2.  Miss  Stewart  Tells  Plans  for  Noonday  Meetings. 

3.  Extension  Department  Girls  Give  Play. 

It  is  necessary  to  have  this  information  complete 
and  easily  accessible  for  use  in  deciding  whether  or 
not  a  feature  article  should  be  sent  to  a  certain  paper. 
If  it  has  recently  published  a  similar  one,  the  article 
in  question  should  be  sent  to  some  other  paper. 

The  Association  Paper  or  Magazine 

The  Association  paper  or  magazine  offers  one  of 
the  best  opportunities  for  excellent  publicity.  If  this 
were  made  a  part  of  the  regular  publicity  program, 
and  real  thought  and  ability — such  as  the  recom- 


16 


mended  combination  publicity  and  editorial  secretary 
must  have — were  put  into  it,  it  should  pay  expenses 
and  be  an  excellent  educational  and  advertising 
medium.  If  there  is  no  woman’s  paper  published  in 
the  city  the  Association  magazine  might  be  made  to 
fill  that  place,,  keeping  its  readers  informed  on  all 
phases  of  woman’s  work  in  the  city,  with  special 
emphasis  on  Association  activities.  Local  writers, 
both  men  and  women,  should  be  asked  to  contribute 
articles  and  editorials.  The  Association  would  have 
an  excellent  mouthpiece  through  this  publication  for 
voicing  some  of  its  sentiments  on  local  conditions  and 
needs,  giving  suggestions  as  to  how  to  remedy  the 
conditions  and  meet  the  needs.  If  no  Association 
secretary  or  committee  member  feels  competent  to 
write  such  material,  the  secretary  in  charge  of  pub¬ 
licity  should  induce  the  right  person  from  the  outside 
to  do  it.  Circulation  could  be  worked  up  and  advertis¬ 
ing  much  more  easily  secured  if  the  Association 
publication  were  of  such  a  nature. 

Act  of  Congress,  August  24,  1912,  in  the  1913 
edition  of  the  Postal  Laws  and  Regulations,  gives 
information  regarding  the  Association  class  of  maga¬ 
zine.  It  will  be  found  on  file  in  public  libraries  or 
may  be  obtained  by  sending  seventy-five  cents  to  the 
Superintendent  of  Documents,  Government  Printing 
Office,  Washington,  D.  C. 

Booklets  and  Folders 

This  is  another  important  feature  of  Association 
publicity.  Booklets  and  folders,  as  well  as  all  letters, 
play  an  important  part  in  the  publicity  program  and 
should  receive  as  much  thought  as  an  advertising 
expert  would  put  into  a  campaign  to  market  some 
new  product.  A  little  study  of  street  car  and  other 
advertising  will  give  an  idea  of  the  logical  way  in 
which  a  campaign  for  various  kinds  of  goods  has  been 
worked  out.  The  whole  series  of  booklets  and  folders 


17 


Illustration  1 


should  be  planned  at  one  time  in  such  a  way  that 
each  part  of  the  series  is  complete  in  itself  yet  logic¬ 
ally  follows  and  precedes  those  which  come  before 
and  after  it.  When  Association  literature  and  letters 
are  written  in  this  way  they  will  probably  bring  better 
results.  In  preparing  booklets  and  folders  one  should 
exercise  originality  in  the  material  used  for  the  copy 
and  in  the  general  layout.  Eacli  department  affords 
endless  opportunity  for  a  variety  of  clever  ideas. 

Preparation. 

One  should  never  tell  the  story  on  the  cover  of  a 
booklet.  The  cover  should  be  used  only  to  catch  the 
attention  and  stimulate  interest.  The  illustration 
gives  a  suggestion  for  a  booklet  for  the  local  Asso¬ 
ciation.  The  door  is  cut  so  as  to  fold  back  and  dis¬ 
close  the  words,  “Come  Into  the  House  of  Friendli¬ 
ness/’  printed  on  the  page  beneath. 

The  booklet  itself  can  be  so  arranged  as  to  give 
a  tour  through  the  building  and  all  the  interesting 
information  connected  with  each  department.  It  may 
be  illustrated  with  a  full-page  picture  of  the  work 
in  action  on  the  left,  and  on  the  right  may  be  printed 
in  a  brief,  snappy.,  telling  way  an  account  of  the 
work  it  represents.  At  the  bottom  of  this  page,  in 
smaller  type,  a  reference  to  some  definite  thing  that 
a  member  of  some  class  or  group  of  girls  has  accom¬ 
plished  would  be  effective.  An  example  of  this  would 
be  a  description  of  work  such  as  was  done  by  a  group 
of  industrial  girls  in  a  middle  western  city  who,  on 
Saturday  afternoons — their  only  free  time — taught  a 
group  of  foreign  women  how  to  make  their  children’s 
dresses  more  easily  and  quickly  and  how  to  cook  a 
cheap  piece  of  meat  appetizingly,  serving  it  in 
sandwiches  when  done. 

An  attractive  two-page  folder  for  local  work  may, 
for  example,  have  a  band  of  color  on  the  outside  at 
top  and  bottom,  and  across  the  right  edge  which  folds 


19 


Illustration  2 


Where 

Girls 

Make 

Friends 


(Running-  headline  in  large  attractive  type— Must  be  striking  and  attention  getting) 

(Sub-heading— if  desired) 


(Fold  here) 


0 

o 

r- 

^  -g 

0  £ 

H  £ 


'o£ 


0 


o 


£ 


0 

£ 

0 


(Fold  here) 


Ph 

Co 

£ 

0 

r* 

H 


0 

c 

cS 


o 

o 

£ 

0 

-C 


o 


ci 


>> 

a 

u 


’C 

o 

tn 

t/; 

< 


0 

s 

o1 

(X! 

0 

C 

O 


c 

0 


o3 

Oh 


0 

-G 


0 


over  the  front  page.  A  picture  of  a  group  of  three 
or  four  girls  may  be  used  on  the  front  of  the  folder, 
and  beneath  it  some  attention-getting  question  or 
statement.  The  illustration  gives  an  idea  of  the  out¬ 
ward  appearance  of  such  a  folder. 

On  the  back  cover  page  might  be  a  smaller  picture 
of  one  girl  with  a  brief,  snappy  catchline  beneath;  or 
an  apt  quotation  only  may  be  used  on  the  back  cover, 
or  it  may  be  left  blank  except  for  the  border,  if  one 
prefers,  but  nothing  on  either  side  of  the  cover  should 
give  away  the  content  of  the  folder.  The  “copy” 
may  start  with  the  local  work,  then  branch  out  into 
the  field,  the  national  and  world's  work,  coming  back 
for  one  short,  clinching  paragraph  to  the  Association 
and  its  future  plans.  The  illustration  gives  a 
“dummy”  for  the  inside  of  folder. 

Another  adaptation  of  the  same  idea  is  this  folder 
used  bv  the  Newark  Association  for  their  budget 
campaign. 

On  the  back  of  the  folder  w^as  printed  the  well- 
known  quotation,  “Success,”  the  implication  being, 
“If  you  do  not  know  about  the  Newark  girl  you  are 
not  really  a  success.”  A  folder  of  this  kind  may 
have  any  number  of  pages  so  long  as  it  is  folded  in 
such  a  way  as  to  be  closed  by  the  tab.  The  briefer 
it  is  and  at  the  same  time  comprehensive,  the  better. 

Artistic  colors  in  paper  and  ink  as  well  as  a  pleas¬ 
ing  texture  of  paper  should  always  be  used.  The 
public  tires  of  monotony  of  color  and  likes  change. 
The  extra  expense  involved  by  the  use  of  two  colors 
of  ink  is  overbalanced  by  the  added  effectiveness  of 
the  printed  matter,  and  the  results  obtained  from 
it.  Some  of  the  literature  should  always  be  done  in 
two  colors. 

Photographs  may  be  taken  during  one  year’s 
activities  and  used  to  illustrate  the  next  year’s 
literature. 

In  planning  for  folders  and  leaflets  it  is  well  to 


22 


Illustration  4 


The 

Newark 

Girl. 

What 

Do 

You 

Know 

About 

Her 

? 


plan  the  size  to  tit  certain  envelopes  used  by  the 
Association  so  that  no  additional  expense  need  be 
incurred  by  special  envelopes.  Paper  that  will  cut 
to  advantage  should  be  selected  so  far  as  possible,  as 
this  reduces  its  cost.  Any  printer  will  be  glad  to  offer 
suggestions  on  this  subject. 

Distribution. 

Adequate  and  economic  distribution  should  be  the 
watchword.  No  stone  should  be  left  unturned  in 
getting  literature  before  the  public,  but  care  should 
be  taken  not  to  duplicate.  If  a  person  receives  three 
copies  of  the  same  leaflet  he  has  a  right  to  doubt  the 
efficiency  of  the  Association.  This  part  of  the  pub¬ 
licity  plan  should  be  carefully  considered.  Besides 
the  literature  which  is  mailed  to  contributors  and  to  a 
carefully  selected  list  made  up  of  persons  that  some 
board  or  committee  member  or  secretary  is  trying  to 
interest  in  Association  work,  there  are  other  excellent 
methods,  such  as  giving  it  out  at  the  parlor  meetings, 
meetings  of  the  Women’s  Federations  of  Clubs,  Social 
Welfare  Workers’  meetings.,  Teachers’  Conferences, 
mid-week  prayer  services,  when  some  mention  has 
been  made  of  the  religious  or  other  Association  activi¬ 
ties,  etc.  At  a  swimming  contest  or  a  gymnasium 
exhibition,  dodgers  may  be  distributed  regarding  the 
work  of  some  other  department  and  at  the  bottom  of 
the  dodger  mention  may  be  made  that  the  next  affair 
of  that  kind  will  occur  on  such  a  date.  Another  line 
may  also  be  added,  such  as:  “Have  you  seen  the  new 
apparatus  in  our  gymnasium?”  “Come  to  the  basket 

ball  game  on - .”  “Time  to  think  about  your  new 

spring  hat !  Come  in  and  see  our  millinery  class 
creations.”  “Try  our  cafeteria  for  a  self-serving 
lunch  party.  Your  friends  will  enjoy  it  and  we’ll 
reserve  a  table  for  you.” 

The  dodgers  for  any  purpose  should  always  be 
original,  but  they  should  never  be  “cheap”  in  their 
cleverness. 


24 


A  careful  “follow-up”  system  should  be  used  in 
distributing  Association  literature.  For  example, 
instead  of  distributing  one  booklet  throughout  a 
factory  and  then  in  case  of  no  response,  trying  another 
factory,  the  first  series  should  be  followed  up  with 
some  other  effort  in  the  same  place,  which  should  be 
consistently  carried  out  by  some  one  person. 

Letters 

A  part  of  the  local  publicity  campaign  by  no  means 
unimportant  is  the  occasional  letter  which  the  secre¬ 
tary  might,  at  the  request  of  the  finance  committee, 
send  out  to  contributors  and  to  a  carefully  selected 
cultiyation  list.  It  should  be  short,  never  more  than 
one  wide-margined  page,  single  spaced,  and  with 
double  spacing  between  paragraphs.  The  letter  that 
is  sent  out  to  remind  contributors  that  their  subscrip¬ 
tions  are  due  should  be  enlivened  with  some  bit  of 
information  that  is  of  special  interest,  some  anecdote 
or  incident  that  has  recently  come  to  the  attention  of 
the  secretary  and  which  she  can  spontaneously  pass 
on,  or  it  may  voice  some  hope  for  future  work  to  be 
undertaken.  In  short,  the  secretary  should  aim  to 
make  each  letter  attractive  and  original  instead  of  the 
old  stereotyped  communication,  even  though  it  is  but 
a  reminder  of  a  pledge  due.  The  personal  letter  sent 
out  for  finance  cultivation  should  also  be  carefully 
worked  out  and  should  be  made  a  part  of  the  general 
publicity  scheme.  It  might  be  a  good  plan  to  issue 
a  confidential  news  letter  once  or  twice  a  year  to  an 
exclusive  list  of  contributors  and  “prospects,”  but  it 
should  be  in  an  intimate,  personal,  enthusiastic  style, 
as  if  one  suddenly  felt  inspired  to  pass  on  something 
too  good  to  keep,  yet  something  that  one  would  not 
care  to  publish  in  the  newspapers.  A  letter  that 
accompanies  a  booklet  should  not  aim  to  give  much 
information,  but  should  be  an  introduction  to  the 
booklet  enclosed.  The  committee  must  decide  over 
whose  signature  these  letters  are  to  be  sent  out.  This 


25 


applies  also  to  the  finance  committee,  if  they  wish  to 
delegate  such  work  as  finance  letters  to  the  secretary 
for  publicity. 

General  Methods 

There  are  a  good  many  unrecognized  forms  of 
publicity,  not  the  least  of  which  is  the  effort  on  the 
part  of  each  person  connected  with  Association  work 
to  win  real,  personal  friends  to  it.  Another  is  the 
identification  of  the  board  and  committee  members 
and  secretaries  with  other  organizations  of  civic  inter¬ 
est,  in  order  that  the  Association  may  have  representa¬ 
tion  in  them.  Through  the  efforts  of  some  board 
member  a  secretary  might  be  requested  by  some  local 
organization  to  speak  at  one  of  their  meetings,  or  at 
some  convention,  on  some  subject  for  which  she  is 
especially  qualified.  The  field  executive  may  also 
become  known  to  the  local  public  in  this  way. 

The  publicity  committee  member  who  is  on  the 
lookout  for  speakers  will  of  course  not  let  slip  the 
opportunity  to  ask  any  person  of  national  reputation, 
who  conies  to  the  city  and  who  can  logically  be  asked, 
to  give  a  talk  at  the  Association  building.  The 
reporter  who  is  co-operating  in  Association  publicity 
should  be  invited  to  attend,  if  the  occasion  warrants 
it,  or  the  press  notice  of  it  may  be  sent  out  by  the 
secretary,  and  later  a  report  of  it. 

A  clever  series  of  letters  signed  “Polly”  or  by  any 
odd  name  might  be  run  in  one  local  paper.  These 
might  be  a  mixture  of  the  serious  and  humorous  and 
sometimes  give  away  some  harmless  bit  of  information 
that  one  would  not  ordinarily  give  out  to  the  press. 
This  is  done  in  one  city,  and  the  letters  amuse  and 
interest  the  readers  and  keep  the  Association  work 
before  their  minds.  Such  letters  should  be  sent  to 
the  paper  selected  by  the  person  who  writes  them  with 
no  information  as  to  their  source,  or  at  least,  no  one 
but  the  city  editor  should  know.  Their  effectiveness, 
to  a  large  degree,  is  in  the  mystery  surrounding  them. 


26 


W1  len  a  group  of  girls  are  just  back  from  a  vacation 
home,  why  not  arrange  with  them  to  be  interviewed 
by  a  reporter  and  let  them  give  their  experiences 
personally?  This  would  make  an  excellent  story  and 
should  be  given  to  but  one  paper. 

If  there  are  millinery  and  dressmaking;  classes  in 
the  Association,  it  is  possible  to  have  openings  at 
the  proper  season  of  the  year  and  send  out  announce¬ 
ments  to  the  public  either  through  the  press  or  by  a 
card,  being  careful  that  the  announcement  is  original 
and  clever  enough  to  attract  attention. 

The  local  Association  can  do  much  to  make  the 
world’s  work  known  to  the  public  by  giving  out  for 
publication  the  interesting  news  letters  that  are  re¬ 
ceived  from  the  secretary  whom  it  is  supporting  in  the 
foreign  field.  The  fact  that  the  Association  is  sup¬ 
porting  this  secretary  should  always  be  made  a  part 
of  the  article,  as  this  fact  gives  the  excuse  for  printing 
it. 

The  “Know  Your  City  Week”  has  proved  to  give 
effective  publicity  for  several  Associations.  This 
means  that  the  local  Association  takes  the  initiative  in 
launching  a  week  when  publicity  is  given  to  all  social 
and  philanthropic  work  done  in  the  city.  The 
Chamber  of  Commerce,  Board  of  Trade,  Board  of 
Education,  and  other  civic  boards  or  organizations 
should  be  asked  to  co-operate,  each  doing  its  share 
toward  a  general  educational  program.  A  place  for 
exhibits  may  be  set  apart,  lectures  on  the  work  of 
different  organizations  should  be  given  in  all  possible 
places,  the  schools,  churches,  halls,,  etc.,  and  the  press 
should  be  asked  to  take  an  active  part  in  making  its 
readers  really  intelligent  on  the  work  done  in  their 
own  city.  This  was  done  so  successfully  in  one  city 
that  a  local  paper  took  it  upon  itself  to  publish  in  a 
series  of  clever  booklets  the  results  of  the  “Know 
Your  City  Week.”  A  day  was  given  to  each  organiza¬ 
tion,  and  a  booklet  was  published  on  the  work  of  each. 


27 


Another  plan  is  a  “talking  campaign/’  when  every¬ 
body  for  one  week  talks  Association  on  all  possible 
occasions  without  seeming  to  be  taking  part  in  a 
publicity  program.  It  should  be  carefully  planned 
and  plenty  of  material  given  out  for  talking  points. 
The  clergymen  of  the  city  may  be  asked  to  co-operate 
by  closing  the  week  with  an  “Association  Sunday” 
without  previously  announcing  to  their  congregations 
that  they  are  to  do  so.  Plenty  of  material  should 
be  given  to  them  for  preaching  a  sermon  on  general 
Association  work.  In  the  afternoon  the  Association 
might  hold  a  service  of  praise,  followed  by  a  social 
time  when  refreshments  are  served,  to  which  all  sub¬ 
scribers,  members,  and  many  other  friends  have  been 
invited. 

During  this  week  Association  enthusiasm  would  be¬ 
come  contagious  and  peoj^le  would  wonder  why  every 
one  was  talking  it. 

The  church  calendar  should,  of  course,  give  each 
Sunday  the  items  which  would  naturally  be  published 
in  such  a  medium. 

Bulletin  boards  outside  the  door  of  the  Association 
have  been  used  effectively  and  often  prove  excellent 
advertising. 

Carefully  prepared  and  interesting  Association 
notes  should  be  sent  regularly  to  all  church,  parish 
and  local  philanthropic  papers.  Surely  these  publica¬ 
tions  would  welcome  good  material  from  an  organiza¬ 
tion  busily  at  work  along  lines  similar  to  theirs. 

The  bulletin  boards  of  women’s  clubs,  public  libra¬ 
ries,  business  colleges,  high  schools,  etc.,  give  a  splen¬ 
did  opportunity  for  free  advertising.  For  instance: 
in  the  business  colleges  the  gymnasium,  pool,  and  out¬ 
door  exercises  might  be  advertised  by  means  of  well- 
designed  posters ;  the  educational  advantages  might  be 
displayed  on  neat  printed  announcements  with  an 
attractive  picture  on  the  bulletin  board  in  the  public 
library;  different  phases  of  the  work  might  be  dealt 


28 


with  in  a  series  of  attractive  announcements  for 
women’s  clubs  and  an  invitation  to  visit  the  various 
activities  extended  to  the  members ;  the  good  times  of 
the  Association  might  be  announced  and  an  invitation 
to  join  in  them  given  the  high  school  girls  by  a  poster 
whenever  some  event  of  interest  to  them  is  to  take 
place. 

Clever  posters  are  also  effective  in  announcing 
coming  events.  These  may  often  be  placed  in  shop 
windows  about  town.  Sometimes  the  national  adver¬ 
tising  of  a  well-known  industry  may  be  effectively 
used,  thus: 

“LET  THE  GOLD  DUST  TWINS  DO  YOUR  WORK” 

(Use  picture  of  twins.) 

AND  SPEND  MORE  TIME  IN  RECREATION 

Come  to  our  Gymnasium  for  folk  dancing,  etc.,  or 

Join  a  class  at  our  Gymnasium  and  patronize  our 

Swimming  Pool 

This  shows  how  such  ideas  can  be  adapted  for  use. 
Naturally,  this  poster  would  be  used  by  the  physical 
department  in  attempting  to  reach  the  home  women 
of  the  city.  Adaptation  of  a  trade  mark  often  catches 
the  public’s  eye  more  quickly  than  something  entirely 
original. 

Street  car  advertising  can  be  obtained  from  the 
individuals  who  have  already  contracted  for  space. 
This  has  been  done  by  Associations  who  have  obtained 
it  as  a  courtesy  and  a  contribution  to  the  Association, 
the  privilege  running  for  one  day  only  in  the  year 
or  one  day  in  the  month,  the  Association  undertaking 
to  print  the  cards  and  place  them  in  whatever  cars  it 
might  see  fit  to  use. 

A  choice  spot  in  which  to  make  the  Association 
known  to  people  who  do  not  necessarily  come  in 
contact  with  it  is  at  the  top  of  the  “Positions  Wanted’’ 
and  “Help  Wanted’’  columns.  This  space  should  not 


29 


always  be  used  to  refer  to  the  employment  bureau,  but 
should  frequently  announce  the  vocational  training, 
social  and  recreational  opportunities. 

Banquets  are  an  excellent  means  of  education  and 
publicity  as  well.  Why  not  give  a  banquet  for  the 
members’  mothers,  for  the  purpose  of  a  general  good 
time  and  developing  friendly  relations  ?  One  Asso¬ 
ciation  had  an  officials’  banquet,  including  judges, 
chief  of  police,  chief  of  fire  department,  fire  inspec¬ 
tors,  state  health  and  state  hospital  officials,  all  with 
a  view  to  making  the  Association  known.  A  business 
men’s  banquet  and  a  press  luncheon  or  dinner  also 
furnish  an  excellent  opportunity  for  presenting  the 
work,  and  have  created  much  enthusiasm  among  the 
men  invited.  The  work  of  the  different  departments 
should  be  briefly  and  graphically  presented  on  all 
such  occasions. 

There  are  any  number  of  methods  that  will  suggest 
themselves  to  the  wide-awake  secretary  who  is  con¬ 
stantly  studying  her  problem.  A  social  leader  may 
hold  a  reception  in  the  Association  parlors  and  short 
talks  may  be  given  by  some  one  versed  in  Association 
work,  preferably  in  a  volunteer  rather  than  employed 
capacity. 

Exhibits  may  be  held  in  churches,  or  the  Associa¬ 
tion  may  take  a  booth  for  this  purpose  at  the  different 
church  fairs ;  and  there  are  the  various  civic  exhibits 
in  which  the  Association  should  have  a  part,  as  well 
as  the  county  and  state  fairs  where  the  work  should 
be  represented.  At  all  of  these  there  may  be  exhibits 
of  domestic  science  and  arts — dressmaking,  millinery, 

etc. — and  short  talks  on  Association  work  mav  be 

•/ 

given.  At  a  county  or  state  fair  an  Association  might 
run  an  attractive  tea  room,  perhaps  serving  only  its 
own  class  products  in  the  way  of  cooking  and  so 
advertising  the  fact.  Placards  may  be  distributed 
about  the  grounds  pointing  the  way  to  the  tea  room 
and  the  exhibit  booth.  Post  cards  could  be  sold  and 


30 


stamps  kept  for  the  convenience  of  the  purchasers 
and  a  desk  provided  for  their  use  in  addressing  them. 
The  post  cards  should  always  bear  the  name  of  the 
city  and  state  so  that  the  recipient  may  visit  the 
Association  when  passing  through  the  city  if  she 
cares  to  do  so.  An  invitation  to  this  effect  might  be 
printed  on  each.  Post  cards  have  been  received  at 
headquarters  that  did  not  bear  the  name  of  city  and 
state  and  no  one  who  had  not  seen  the  building  could 
tell  where  they  were  from. 

KEYING  RESULTS 

The  necessity  for  “keying  results/’  or  keeping  a 
check  on  returns  from  publicity,  cannot  be  over¬ 
estimated.  Each  person  who  fills  out  an  application 
blank  should  be  asked  to  indicate  on  it  how  she  has 
learned  most  about  the  Association,  whether  through 
friends,  the  local  press,  Association  literature  or  in 
other  ways.  This  information  should  be  tabulated 
and  used  in  determining  on  which  form  of  publicity 
to  lay  most  stress  in  the  next  yearly  campaign. 

STIMULATING  IDEAS 

Even  the  advertising  expert  cannot  always  call  up 
an  original  idea  at  will.  One  man  who  is  recognized 
as  an  authority  on  advertising  and  is  also  well-known 
in  literary  work  keeps  a  file  of  up-to-date  magazine 
advertisements  and  when  at  a  loss  for  a  catch-line 
or  a  good  opening  paragraph  for  an  article  he  runs 
through  his  files  and  soon  begins  to  write.  A  glance 
at  the  advertisements  in  any  first-class  magazine  is 
very  helpful.  One  can  secure  effective  cultivation 
letters  and  booklets  by  writing  reliable  advertisers 
who  offer  to  send  literature  on  application.  If  you 
have  ever  done  this  you  know  how  you  have  been 
bombarded  by  a  complete  and  logical  publicity  series. 
These,  although  of  a  business  nature,  will  stimulate 
one’s  own  originality. 


31 


There  are  also  many  books  which  one  can  read  for 
this  purpose,,  some  of  which  are:  “Influencing  Men  in 
Business,’’  by  Walter  Dill  Scott;  “Imagination  in 
Business/’  bv  Lorin  Fuller  Deland,  and  “Business 
Correspondence”  in  three  volumes,  by  The  System 
Company,  which  gives  excellent  suggestions  for  ideas 
in  letter  writing.  These  may  all  be  obtained  from 
local  libraries  or  book  stores,  or  from  national  head¬ 
quarters.  There  are  helpful  business  magazines 
which  are  well  worth  reading  occasionally ;  some  of 
them  are:  “System,”  “Profitable  Advertising,”  “Ad¬ 
vertising  and  Selling,”  and  “Printers’  Ink.” 

FINANCE  CAMPAIGNS 

Nothing  affords  a  better  chance  for  general  pub¬ 
licity  than  the  Building  and  first  Annual  Budget 
Campaigns.  (An  annual  recurrence  of  the  following 
spectacular  methods  will  not  be  necessary  after  an 
adequate  subscription  list  has  been  built  up.)  They 
give  an  opportunity  for  many  newspaper  feature 
articles  as  well  as  the  daily  campaign  news.  All 
sorts  of  unique  devices  can  be  used,  such  as  the 
different  variations  of  the  clock  or  thermometer  which 
registers  from  day  to  day  the  progress  of  the  cam¬ 
paign,  a  cut  of  which  should  appear  on  the  first 
page  of  the  local  papers  if  they  can  be  induced  to 
give  the  space.  These  two  devices  are  not  new  and 
something  more  original  would  be  better. 

Good  headlines  are  a  very  important  part  of  news¬ 
paper  publicity  and  no  headline  man  is  likely  to  throw 
out  one  that  he  considers  especially  clever;  conse¬ 
quently,  some  thought  should  be  given  to  studying  up 
effective  ones  at  this  time.  For  a  large  campaign  of 
any  kind,  the  newspapers  should  be  asked  to  give 
some  space  on  the  first  page,  even  if  very  little  except 
the  headlines  appears  there,  the  remainder  of  the 
copy  being  continued  on  some  other  page.  The 
campaign  leader  should  also  ask  for  at  least  two 
editorials  during  its  progress,  one  at  the  start  and 


32 


one  toward  the  end  when  it  is  necessary  to  use  every 

means  to  stimulate  enthusiasm.  A  great  many  pictures 

should  be  used  and  the  city  editors  will  usually  send 

%/  * 

their  own  photographers  to  take  them  if  asked  to 
do  so. 

Surface  ear  advertising  is  expensive  and  should  not 
be  expected  as  a  contribution  from  the  company, 
except  in  the  case  of  a  big  building  campaign.  At 
that  time  it  is  legitimate  to  ask  the  street  car  advertis¬ 
ing  company  to  give  card  space  as  their  contribution 
to  Association  work.  Mention  has  already  been  made 
of  how  such  advertising  may  be  secured  through  local 
firms. 

Different  firms  may  be  induced  to  use  printed  signs 
on  their  delivery  wagons,  announcing  the  campaign 
and  its  purpose. 

The  Association  should  keep  “open  house”  that 
week  and  the  public  should  be  invited.  There  should 
be  a  reception  committee  each  evening  composed  of 
one  group  of  volunteer  workers,  while  another  group 
should  act  as  guides  for  showing  the  building  and  the 
regular  work  which  should  be  in  progress. 

The  campaign  luncheon  is  really  a  necessity  from 
a  publicity  point  of  view  and  a  table  should  be  reserved 
for  the  press  representatives,  who  should  be  given  a 
complimentary  luncheon  each  day  during  the  cam¬ 
paign.  A  good-sized  pad  and  plenty  of  well- 
sharpened  pencils  should  be  provided  for  each  re¬ 
porter,  and  messenger  or  telephone  service  should  be 
furnished;  this  communication  service  is  a  necessity 
for  getting  the  desired  copy  into  the  evening  papers. 
The  luncheon  program  should  be  carefully  planned 
and  some  interesting  feature  “sprung”  each  day. 
Special  five-minute  talks  should  be  given  on  the 
various  departments  of  the  work,  making  them  as 
telling  as  possible,  and  each  day  some  outside  person 
should  be  brought  in.  For  instance,  the  day  that  the 
industrial  secretary  presents  the  work  of  her  depart- 


33 


ment,  the  president  or  general  manager  of  some  fac¬ 
tory  who  is  interested  in  Association  work  and  whose 
employees  make  use  of  the  building,  might  be  asked 
to  give  some  word  of  appreciation  on  the  work.  A 
practical  and  inspirational  message  from  one  of  the 
local  pastors  who  knows  how  to  enthuse  his  hearers, 
is  an  excellent  plan  and  has  proved  effective  in 
campaign  work.  The  mayor  of  the  city,  district 
attorney,  chairman  of  the  Board  of  Trade,  some  well- 
known  bank  president,  the  Young  Men’s  Christian 
Association  secretary  and  the  superintendent  of  public 
schools  might  be  asked  to  give  these  five-minute  talks, 
as  well  as  the  clergymen  and  factory  officials.  Then 
there  are  the  surprises,  such  as  the  telegram  or  special 
delivery  letter  from  a  distance,  announcing  a  large 
gift,  which  should  be  brought  in  and  opened  in  the 
midst  of  giving  the  reports.  These  may  legitimately 
be  planned  beforehand.  They  are  a  good  device  for 
stimulating  enthusiasm  and  for  getting  publicity. 

There  are  other  methods  of  arousing  the  interest 
of  the  public  and  of  securing  space  in  the  newspapers. 
In  one  city  the  young  women’s  team  gave  an  auto¬ 
mobile  parade  the  opening  day  of  the  campaign.  The 
automobiles  were  decorated  with  campaign  banners, 
streamers,  and  flags,  bearing  the  team  colors.  This 
feature  in  itself  may  be  made  unusually  attractive, 
and  may  be  effective  in  some  cities.  In  others  it  may 
not  be  advisable.  Like  many  other  publicity  ques¬ 
tions,  it  must  be  decided  locally. 

The  Central  Branch  in  New  York  City,  during  the 
New  York  building  campaign,  published  one  issue  of 
a  newspaper  called  the  “Central  Branch  Special,” 
which  attracted  a  great  deal  of  attention  and  which 
more  than  paid  the  expenses  of  publishing  it  because 
of  the  advertising  which  it  carried. 

THE  BUDGET 

An  allowance  should  be  made  for  publicity  in  the 


34 


budget.  An  approximate  estimate  of  the  necessary 
amount  will  not  be  difficult.  The  only  cost  for  the 
newspaper  publicity  will  be  the  time  spent  in  handling 
it.  So  long  as  one  furnishes  news  for  copy,  getting 
it  printed  will  be  an  easy  matter.  The  Association 
paper  or  magazine,  if  it  is  not  up  to  the  standard, 
might  require  an  additional  appropriation,  but  it 
would  undoubtedly  pay  to  make  it  if  the  publication 
were  made  a  live  and  interesting  civic,  as  well  as 
Association,  feature.  The  booklets  and  folders  can 
be  planned,  the  number  and  size  decided  upon,  and  a 
rough  estimate  of  their  cost,  including  illustrations, 
made  bv  consulting  a  printer.  The  different  letters 
in  a  series  which  the  secretary  plans  to  send  out  and 
the  number  of  each  to  be  distributed  should  be  decided 
upon.  The  cost  of  stationery,  postage,  and  time  spent 
in  typing  them  can  be  estimated.  Other  methods  of 
publicity  which  will  require  special  appropriation, 
such  as  exhibits  where  pictures  are  used,  etc.,  should 
be  planned  and  estimated,  and  the  budget  as  carefully 
adhered  to  as  possible.  The  second  year  of  a  publicity 
campaign  can  be  more  readily  estimated,  as  one  learns 
by  experience  what  is  effective  and  what  should  be 
eliminated. 

THE  NEW  ASSOCIATION 

The  new  Association  has  a  splendid  opportunity 
for  publicity  just  because  it  is  new.  That  fact  alone 
makes  its  “copy”  of  real  news  value.  It  should  be 
started  by  a  feature  article  in  all  the  local  papers  on 
Association  work  in  general  and  the  particular  activi¬ 
ties  to  be  first  undertaken  in  that  community.  Some 
particular  need  of  a  certain  class  or  group  of  girls, 
and  how  the  Association  will  meet  it,  might  be  the 
basis  for  one  article.  Special  articles  may  be  given 
to  the  different  papers  so  that  they  do  not  all  receive 
the  same  copy  except  for  certain  general  news. 


35 


LOCAL  AND  NATIONAL  CO-OPERATION 


A  Field  Publicity  Week  might  be  promoted  from 
held  headquarters,  and  newspaper  copy  sent  to  some 
syndicate  company  in  that  section  for  distribution. 
If  good  copy  and  photographs  for  illustrations  are 
furnished,  such  a  company  would  be  glad  to  use  the 
material.  Any  city  editor  in  the  field  will  gladly 
recommend  some  good  newspaper  syndicate.  Other 
publicity  suggestions  in  this  booklet  may  be  adapted 
to  a  Field  Publicity  Week.  Local  Associations  might 
carry  the  publicity  for  small  towns  in  their  locality 
so  that  the  entire  Field  would  be  awakened  to  the 
value  and  scope  of  Association  work.  Such  a  week 
has  been  successfully  promoted  by  one  field. 

The  Association  Monthly  performs  a  national  pub¬ 
licity  mission  in  addition  to  the  service  which  it  gives 
to  those  in  the  work.  An  article  on  local  work  in  that 
magazine  which  is  read  by  resident  women  must  make 
them  realize  more  fully  the  magnitude  of  the  work 
in  their  own  city  because  they  know  that  The  Asso¬ 
ciation  Monthly  is  a  national  organ.  This  is  one 
reason  why  the  local  Associations  should  send  inter¬ 
esting  material  to  headquarters  for  publication.  The 
material  which  has  been  used  has  had  to  be  gathered 
largely  from  newspaper  clippings,  which  are  some¬ 
times  inaccurate. 

Accounts  of  unusual  or  effective  work  done  by  the 
local  Association  can  often  be  used  in  magazine  or 
newspaper  articles  for  national  publicity,  giving  full 
credit  to  the  Association  which  has  done  the  work. 
This  makes  the  article  more  interesting  and  would 
react  directly  upon  the  local  finance  question.  If  a 
member  of  the  finance  committee,  in  endeavoring  to 
interest  a  friend  in  financial  support  for  the  Associa¬ 
tion,  could  refer  to  some  article  mentioning  their  own 
work,  which  had  appeared  in  one  of  the  leading 
magazines  or  newspapers  of  the  country,  she  would 
have  another  argument  in  showing  that  the  work, 


36 


though  generally  considered  local  in  its  benefits,  is 
national  in  its  interest  and  organization. 

W1  len  more  and  better  publicity  becomes  the 
slogan,  the  chief  aim  of  publicity — bringing  the  girl 
and  the  Association  together— will  be  accomplished, 
the  whole  work  will  be  known  to  and  thoroughly 
understood  by  the  community,  and,  as  a  natural 
consequence,  its  moral  and  financial  support  will  be 
assured. 


37 


